McDonald-O’Brien Finishes Second at MAC Championships
GROVE CITY, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Rory McDonald-O’Brien finished as the runner-up at the 2025 Mid-American Conference Men’s Golf Championships Tuesday, April 29, to lead the Eastern Michigan University team to a third-place showing at Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio. The team’s finish marked the 14th top three showing in program history and EMU’s first since 2019.
As a team, Eastern finished third at 8-over 872 (285-276-311) with No. 78 Kent State University taking the title at 10-under 854 (288-276-290) and Ball State University, the 2024 championships, capturing second place at 6-over 870 (293-284-293). The top five was rounded out by fourth-place Northern Illinois University, who shot 11-over 875 (285-287-303), and No. 96 Miami University, who was fifth after shooting 15-over 879 (297-282-300).
The Eagles’ third-place finish marks its best since winning the 2019 crown and marks the 14th time Eastern has placed in the top three at the MAC Championships. Eastern, a three-time champion, secured its fifth, third-place showing to go along with six runner-up finishes. Overall, the 872 strokes recorded are the fewest for the program at the MAC event in the 54-hole era and marked the fourth consecutive year the team has lowered the record, including its 10-stroke improvement over the 882 shot last year.
Individually, McDonald-O’Brien (Shrewsbury, England/Shrewsbury School/South Carolina Aiken) finished 5-over 211 (69-65-77) to take second place with No. 95 Jordan Gilkison of Kent State earning medalist honors by shooting 8-under 208 (71-67-70). The runner-up finish is the best by an EMU player since 2016 when Kyle Rodes tied for second and stands as just the fifth top two showing in program history. His 211 strokes also stand as the best score by an EMU player at the MAC Championships, surpassing the 216 shots by Cam Kellett in 2023 when he tied for fifth place. All-told, McDonald-O’Brien recorded his third-best collegiate score.
Tim Chan (Hong Kong, China/Loretto School/New Mexico JC/VCU) tied for 13th at 4-over 220 (75-67-78) to tie for the third-best score at the MAC event by an EMU player with Patrick Deardorff, who shot 220 last year to tie for 17th. Chan was joined on the all-time top 15 scores list by Daniel Robles Delval (Albacete, Spain/Escuela Nacional Blume/Rogers State), who tied for 21st at 7-over 223 (74-70-79). Robles Delval’s score tied for the 11th-lowest at the MAC tournament by an EMU player and marked the fourth consecutive year an Eastern player finished with a score of 223.
Bavake Sihota (Caledon, Ontario/Independent Learning Center/Michigan) and James Baxter (London, England/Highlands School & Sixth Form) both competed for the Eagles and placed tied for 31st and tied for 34th, respectively. Sihota finished a 12-over 228 (77-74-77) while Baxter shot 14-over 230 (67-77-86).
Up Next
The Eagles will now await word from the NCAA to see if they are one of the teams selected for an at-large berth into the 2025 NCAA Regionals. The NCAA Selection Show will air live at 1 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel Wednesday, April 30.
Results
MAC Championships
Pinnacle Golf Club • Grove City, Ohio
Par 72 • 7,463 yards • 54 holes
Sunday-Tuesday, April 27-29, 2025
FINAL Team Standings
1. #78 Kent State • 288-276-290=854 (-10)
2. Ball State • 293-284-293=870 (+6)
3. Eastern Michigan • 285-276-311=872 (+8)
4. Northern Illinois • 285-287-303=875 (+11)
5. #96 Miami • 297-282-300=879 (+15)
6. Toledo • 289-292-301=882 (+18)
7. Bowling Green • 297-288-325=910 (+46)
8. Ohio • 308-290-315=913 (+49)
9. Central Michigan • 303-305-313=921 (+57)
only top 100 rankings listed
FINAL Individual Results (Top 10 + EMU)
1. #95 Jordan Gilkison (KS) • 71-67-70=208 (-8)
2. Rory McDonald-O’Brien (EM) • 69-65-77=211 (-5)
3. Bryce Reed (KS) • 73-69-70=212 (-4)
4. Craig Long II (NI) • 68-72-74=214 (-3)
4. Jamie Butler (TOL) • 70-72-72=214 (-2)
6. Evan Johnson (BGS) • 71-69-75=215 (-1)
6. Felix Krammer (NI) • 73-70-72=215 (-1)
8. Kash Bellar (BS) • 78-67-72=217 (+1)
9. Cameron Pero (MIA) • 78-66-74=218 (+2)
10. Carter Smith (BS) • 73-70-76=219 (+3)
10. Morgan Blythe (MIA) • 70-75-74=219 (+3)
10. Bence Bertenyi (TOL) • 70-75-74=219 (+3)
——-
t13. Tim Chan • 75-67-78=220 (+4)
t21. Daniel Robles Delval • 74-70-79=223 (+7)
t31. Bavake Sihota • 77-74-77=228 (+12)
t34. James Baxter • 67-77-86=230 (+14)
only top 200 rankings listed
